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European Regulators Examine Reports of Exploding iPhones

PARIS — The European Commission said Tuesday that it was examining the safety of Apple iPhones and iPods, after news reports said that several of the devices had exploded.

Helen Kearns, a spokeswoman for Meglena Kuneva, the consumer protection commissioner, said Apple was cooperating with the commission in examining reports of problems with two iPhones in France and an iPod in Britain.

“At the moment, they said they regard these as isolated incidents and they don’t have evidence of a general problem,” Ms. Kearns said.

Apple did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. A spokesman told Reuters: “We are aware of these reports and we are waiting to receive the iPhones from the customers. Until we have the full details, we don’t have anything further to add.”

In one instance, a teenager in Aix-en-Provence, France, reportedly was slightly injured when an iPhone overheated and shattered, sending debris into his eye.

In another case, according to reports in Britain, an iPod Touch overheated and jumped into the air after it was dropped.

Ms. Kearns said that, in response to the reports, the consumer protection agency in Brussels had activated a rapid alert system, notifying the 27 members of the European Union and asking national regulators whether they had any information on such incidents. So far, she said, they had reported no problems.

The reported incidents in Europe are not the first time Apple and other manufacturers have had problems with portable devices.

Last year, Apple offered to replace batteries in some iPod Nano music players in Japan after the government warned that they might pose a fire risk. Three years ago, a number of computer manufacturers recalled laptops with batteries from Sony after reports of fires and explosions.

A version of this article appears in print on , on page B4 of the New York edition with the headline: European Regulators Examine Reports of Exploding iPhones. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe